With the development of communications technologies, the Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) and the World Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) develop very fast. These technologies are beneficial supplements to the 3rd Generation (3G) mobile communication. Currently, the Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and the Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN) already start to be used. In the process of their promotion, the terminals play a very important role. At present, there are more and more mobile phone terminals that integrate 3G and WLAN functions. For an operator, effectively controlling a terminal to automatically access different networks in specific conditions can reduce costs for users and operators greatly and improve user experiences.
A method for network selection provided in the prior art mainly includes the following steps. Some network selection lists such as an Equivalent Home Public Land Mobile Network (EHPLMN) list, a Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) list, a User Controlled PLMN Selector with Access Technology list, an Operator Controlled PLMN Selector with Access Technology list, and Forbidden PLMNs are stored in a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)/Universal Mobile Telecommunication System SIM (USIM) in a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC). Subsequently, network selection is performed according to a certain algorithm. The method for network selection includes automatic network selection and manual network selection.
In the process of implementing the present invention, the inventors find that the existing network selection process has at least the following deficiencies.
(1) In the prior art, the network selection lists are stored in the UICC, which results in that a server is unable to update list contents flexibly enough.
(2) The existing network selection lists available in the UICC are incomplete. For example, no WLANForbiddenList exists, and network selection in scenarios of access technologies such as WLAN cannot be solved.
(3) In the prior art, network selection and configuration is mainly performed according to priorities, network selection policies cannot be configured and used, and location of network selection is performed through level-by-level selection of the lists, so the network selection speed is low.